Journeyed down(and over?) to Starved Rock State Park(IL.) today. Beautiful place with canyons and waterfalls(well, when it actually rains), and amazing views everywhere. Tons of walking, and tons of stairs going up and down. I'm sure my body, and especially my left foot, will be rebelling tomorrow. Worth the trip, though, as it had been far too long since I'd been there. Nan and Benjamin really enjoyed it, so it was a good thing all around.

And, yeah, Alisha, pet names need to happen organically. You can't just say "call me Magic Muffin" and expect it to have any feeling or romance attached to it. Either it will happen or it won't.

Seems to me pet names somewhat evolve as well, start out as one thing and eventually end as another. I know a couple where he used to call her "pumpkin", eventually it turned into "pun" over the years, and they are not a "lovey-dovey" couple at all, it's just his name for her.

My bf calls me babe or baby and I hate it. I think that is his go to term of endearment that he called his exes too. It's been 3 years and he still has trouble not calling me that sometimes. Now he has 5 that he changes out.

I like nicknames and petnames...they show you care about people and....sometimes save you from saying names you feel awkward saying.

It's also convenient when you get older. My dad has a tendency to call me by my sisters name, but atleast he doesn't get our nicknames wrong. Mine's Spook (Ghost), which is kinda awesome, though I have to wonder why he started calling me that...

My grandma is too far gone to really remember any names besides my mom's and her two dead sons' (that's three out of ten), so she calls everyone 'lieverd' (sweetheart).